Day 8 – 30 Day Reading Challenge – Hidden Pictures – Book Review

Mallory is delighted to have a new job looking after gorgeous four-year-old, Teddy. She’s been sober for a year and a half and she’s sure her new nannying role in the affluent suburbs will help keep her on the straight and narrow.

That is until Teddy starts to draw disturbing pictures of his imaginary friend, Anya. It is quite clear to Mallory and to Teddy’s parents, even in his crude childlike style, that the woman Teddy is drawing in his pictures is dead.

Teddy’s crayons are confiscated, and his paper locked away. But the drawings somehow keep coming, telling a frightening story of a woman murdered… and they’re getting more sophisticated. But if Teddy isn’t drawing the pictures anymore, who is? And what are they trying to tell Mallory about her new home?

WOW….this book is just WOW! This is one of those books where I finished within 48 hours—this was really good!

Throughout the Instagram and Goodreads, I saw positive reviews on this book and so decided to try out this book. This book was the winner of the Goodreads Horror in 2022 and I have to say…this book really deserve its higher ratings!

Story starts with Mallory Quinn who had been sober for eighteen months. She then gets a job as a nanny to work for a wealthy and affluent family Caroline and Ted Maxwell–to babysit their five-year-old son Teddy. At first Mallory enjoys being a babysitter and Teddy draws pictures and shows Mallory. Soon Teddy uses Anya who is his imaginary friend and start drawing pictures depicting on disturbing themes–a woman being murdered and then dragged through the woods by a man. Mallory realizes that the woman in the picture is dead. Teddy’s crayons are being confiscated but the drawings kept coming back. Who is this woman? What is the story behind those pictures?

I have to say I simply couldn’t put the book down–it was so impossible to put the book down! Not only that–what makes this book more unique compared to other books is the presence of pictures that would help the reader to help understand the meaning of the pictures–which changes from childish paintings to a more adult painted. Is Mallory really crazy? Or is the place haunted by a ghost who may have been murdered by someone? The book was unputdownable, a page turner and I simply couldn’t wait what the ending was. In other words, it was fast-paced! The ending…it was completely unexpected and did not expect that twist to come! I really liked the supernatural element in the book mingled with the thriller.

So if you are a fan of horror thrillers, try out this book–worth five stars!